CONCERNS RAISED IN CASE OF REPEAT CHILD MOLESTER

Thursday, May 6, 2010 —A man charged last week with molesting the child of a family he was staying with was convicted of similar acts under almost identical circumstances decades ago and now Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart is asking anyone who had regular contact with the man to talk to their children about any interactions they may have had with him.

Martin Weis, 45, is charged with predatory criminal sexual assault of a child. He has been held in the Cook County Jail on $100,000 bond since his arrest last Thursday.

Weis worked for Crystal Lake-based Skinner’s Amusements and by virtue of that seasonal carnival job, he moved across the country. When he was home, he primarily stayed in the Melrose Park area but was transient, staying with friends and associates for as long as they’d allow.

In early April, sheriff’s investigators were called to a home in unincorporated Melrose Park, where a family had allowed him to stay for the previous three months. A child in the family found pictures of suspected child pornography near his belongings and alerted adults, who kicked him out.

A follow-up investigation by sheriff’s police determined Weis had been molesting a child in the house where he had been invited to stay.

In 1988, Weis was convicted of criminal sexual abuse. In that case, a family had allowed him to stay with them while he was between jobs, until learning Weis had been molesting a child in their home.

Because his conviction came before the Illinois Sex Offender Registry was created, he is not publicly listed as a sex offender and the families he’s been staying with likely didn’t know about his criminal history.

Since last week’s arrest, investigators have been contacted by another adult who expressed concern about interactions Weis had with other children.
“We hope there aren’t more victims out there, but there may be,” Dart said. “If there are, we’d like them to come forward to help us make sure he never does this to another child again.”

Weis is set to appear in court again on May 19 in Rolling Meadows.

Anyone with information or concerns about Weis can contact sheriff’s police investigators at 708-865-4875.